News

Morning 9: Oakmont the U.S. Open anchor | U.S. Am medalist | OWGR changes

Published

5 years ago

Aug 12, 2021

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt

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August 12, 2021

Good Thursday morning, golf fans.

1. Anchor Oakmont

AP report…“Already identified by its U.S. Open heritage, Oakmont Country Club was named the second “anchor” course for the U.S. Open in an announcement Wednesday that includes bringing nine U.S. Opens for men and women to Pennsylvania.”

“Four of them will be at Merion, which was chosen to host the 2030 U.S. Open. That will be the 100-year anniversary of Bobby Jones completing the Grand Slam. The final piece of what was called the “impregnable quadrilateral” in 1930 was the U.S. Amateur at Merion”

Full piece.

2. U.S. Am medalist

Adam Woodard for Golfweek…“A day after celebrating his 23rd trip around the sun on Tuesday, Pennsylvania local Mark Goetz earned medalist honors at the 121st U.S. Amateur, finishing the two rounds of stroke play at Longue Vue Club and Oakmont Country Club at 8 under with rounds of 64 and 68, respectively.”

“The fifth-year senior at West Virginia made just one bogey over the 36 holes, and it came on Wednesday morning during the continuation of the second round after play was halted for four hours due to a weather delay and stopped due to darkness on Tuesday night.”

“It’s the most memorable two days of my career by a mile, there’s nothing that will even come close,” Goetz said on Tuesday. “This place can beat you to your core. It’s disgustingly hard. If you play scared out here, you’re a little bit tentative, man it’ll bite you in the butt so fast. So I really didn’t have any expectations this week, and it’s because of how difficult this place is.”

Full piece.

3. OWGR changes

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…An overhaul of the Official World Golf Ranking that began in 2019 was announced Wednesday and will feature what officials call a modernized “field rating” calculation based on analytic techniques.”

“Under the new system, the field rating for each event in the ranking will be set by every player in the field, not just the top 200 players in the current ranking, and the minimum point levels and flagship events have been removed from the calculation.”

Full piece.

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The idea behind the Morning 9 is a roundup of the day’s most significant storylines presented in an easy-to-digest format. The Golfer’s Journal occupies the other end of the spectrum: long-form, photo rich essays from some of the best writers in golf discussing all elements of this beautiful, maddening game.

More a collection of essays than a magazine. More a coffee table book of first-rate photos than a glossy, ad-filled monthly — GJ is a must-have for true lovers of golf.

GolfWRX may earn a commission of “GolfWRX Recommends” products.

4. Rose wins Payne Stewart Award

Helen Ross for PGATour.com…”Payne Stewart noticed a spindly 12-year-old waiting patiently outside the ropes at the Open Championship that day at Royal St. George’s and tossed him a golf ball.”

“Justin Rose, who is now 41, still remembers the feeling when he caught it.”

“That was a cool moment and made my day,” he said.

“So, imagine what it felt like on Monday when he hopped on a Zoom call to do some media interviews and the faces of Tracey Stewart and her son Aaron popped on the screen. Suddenly the cameras in the background made a little more sense.”

“Stewart’s widow and son were on the call to tell Rose that he was the 2021 winner of the Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company.”

Full piece.

5. Tight race on the Korn Ferry Tour

Via the Golf Channel Digital Team…”Entering the regular-season finale, the standings are excruciatingly close.”

“According to the Tour’s calculations, it appears as though the top 19 in the standings are safe to earn Tour cards. That’d mean the cutoff falls at Jared Wolfe, and it would take a wild sequence of events for No. 20 Nick Hardy to fall out, too.”

“After that, it gets interesting: Ben Kohles, Brett Drewitt, Curtis Thompson, Taylor Montgomery and Peter Uihlein occupy spots No. 21-25, respectively. Uihlein has only a seven-point lead over No. 26 Austin Smotherman, while 27th-ranked Roberto Diaz is eight points behind.”

“In all, spots No. 24-27 are separated by just 18 points.”

Full piece.

6. J.R. Smith is going back to school — and to play golf?

PGATour.com’s Helen Ross…”The 35-year-old is retired now and about to embark on a new adventure, enrolling at North Carolina A&T State University, one of the nation’s top HBCUs, to pursue a degree in liberal studies. Maybe those NBA scouts were right after all.”

“So, this is whenever,” said Smith, shortly before he split the fairway with his opening drive during the pro-am at the Wyndham Championship.

“The 6-foot-6, 200-pounder starts classes on Aug. 18. He is also waiting on the NCAA and to sort out his eligibility, and when it does, Smith, who plays to a 5 handicap, is looking to join the Aggies’ golf team.”

“It’s a big deal for A&T. It’s a big deal for him,” said Richard Watkins, who coaches both the men’s and women’s teams and was in Smith’s gallery on Wednesday. “It’s not very often that somebody in his position really has an opportunity to have a thought, a dream, an idea, and to be able to go ahead and move in that direction.”

Full piece.

7. Simpson on Zalatoris’ situation

Adam Schupak at Golfweek…”As a Special Temporary Member on the PGA Tour, Zalatoris was able to accept an unlimited number of sponsor invites this season. However, he has accumulated zero FedEx Cup points – unless he were to win this week. But here’s the thing: If he were eligible to earn FedEx Cup points he would rank 26th with 1,270 points.”

“It makes no sense. PGA Tour veteran Webb Simpson went so far as to suggest that there should be a player vote to let Zalatoris play.”

“I think I represent a lot of the players, I mean, that I’ve talked to that we all feel that he should be able to go to the Playoffs. Even if he’s ahead of me in the FedExCup Playoffs, I think he deserves to be in the Playoffs,” Simpson said.”

Full piece.

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8. Will Zalatoris’ putter switch

Our piece for PGATour.com…“When I get some time off, I think this could be a game changer.”

“That was Will Zalatoris’ first thought after rolling a few putts with a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11 prototype putter in May. He got that time off, unfortunately, following a back injury that forced him out of The Open Championship and kept him on the sidelines until last week. “

“While resting and rehabbing at home following his early exit from Royal St. George’s, Zalatoris, who “hated every minute” of the downtime, decided to engage in some flatstick experimentation.”

“He found the Phantom X 11 prototype putter — with a black topline for added alignment — both rolled the ball a more predictable distance and gave him more feedback off the face.”

“I loved how immediately off the face … I just get immediate feedback,” Zalatoris said. “I was starting to lose that a little bit with my putter. … I can feel that ball exactly where it comes off on the face.”

Full piece.

News

GolfWRX’s Father’s Day Gift Guide (2026)

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

A reminder from your friends at GolfWRX: Father’s Day is June 21. And as we do every year, we’re rounding up the best gifts for dad.

As we say every year, there’s no better golf-related Father’s Day gift than a round of golf with pops. Be it a country club or your favorite muni, take the time to get together to play 18 if you can.

Let’s get to the gifts.

Ghost Golf Qualifier Diamond Polo

We like the new polos that Ghost is offering, as the fabric and fit are so good. These new Qualifier Collection polos breathe well, are lightweight, stretch with your swing, and of course look great. You can wear them on the course, in the office, or just out at a casual event and they will fit right in.

Buy here.

STR8-Strip Grip Tape Remover

If your dad is an equipment aficionado and tinkers with his clubs, this tool works wonders. Removing grip tape has never been easier, just put a little head on the tape and the STR8-Strip peals it right off the shaft without any damage.

Buy here.

Why Golf: Putting Thing

When it comes to practice, it is good to have a purpose. This “Putting Thing” sure does it. We know from personal experience how challenging it can be and how rewarding it is on the practice green. This also provides some competition for your kiddo to see who will unload the dishwasher or do the next chore around the house.

Buy here.

OluKai Lae‘ahi Men’s Breathable Slip-On Shoes

Riding to and from the course in style and comfort is always a good thing. If you’re in a hurry, it’s a nice feature to slide into your shoes and get to the tee time. For the post-game shoe, at your locker or while putting your clubs away in the car. Nice to slide into a shoe that looks good anywhere. Pair that with meeting the family for dinner, no need to change!

Buy here.

Therabody Theragun Relief

A little wellness goes a long way. Keeping loose is a good way to go when it comes to the weekend game or treatment during the week. If there is a little ache or pain, the Theragun is there to help out. Help loosen up the back for a pre-game warm-up or cool-down.

Buy here.

World Cup golf apparel

Something for the soccer dads. Embrace the World Cup fever this summer on the course with custom gear to support the nation of your choice.

Buy here.

FootJoy Pro SL spikeless golf shoes

Give the old man a break and save his feet with the Footjoy Pro SL Men’s Spikeless Golf Shoes for some added comfort on the course.

Buy here.

Bushnell Wingman 2 GPS speaker

Combine all the hits as well as some game improvement with the Wingman 2 Golf GPS Speaker by getting audible distance readings from 38,000+ courses worldwide through the Wingman 2 remote or speaker.

Buy here.

Personalized Titleist Pro V1 golf balls

The No. 1 ball in golf is a safe bet, and the Pro V1 fits the largest chunk of the bell curve if you don’t know what ball pops plays. Add personalization for a, well, personal touch!

Buy here.

GolfWRX may earn a commission for purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 OccuNet Classic

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

With the PGA Tour across the border in Canada this week, GolfWRX Tour Photographer Greg Moore stayed stateside and headed to the OccuNet Classic presented by Amarillo National Bank in Amarillo, Texas.

It’s always interesting to see what the guys are playing on the KFT, and this week certainly hasn’t disappointed so far, with some incredible wedge stamping on display.

Check out links to all our albums below.

General Albums

2026 OccuNet Classic (KFT) – Monday #1

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Luke Potter’s custom Cameron putter – 2026 OccuNet Classic (KFT)

News

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Scotty Cameron GOLO 6 with BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @HuskerFlyer is sharing a Scotty Cameron GOLO with a BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition shaft. While the putter is certainly enviable, the Augusta-inspired shaft is equally noteworthy.

From the listing:

Scotty Cameron Golo 6 with BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition Scotty Headcover 34″ $375

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.